The Angel's Last Gift
by ShyIntrovert
Summary: Anakin's Angel is gone, but she left him a gift. A Vader & Leia AU. Ben, Luke, Mara and the Organas also make appearances.Part one of the Leia Vader series. Complete
1. Chapter One

The Angel's Last Gift 

A/N: I wrote this fic about five years ago. Many English classes later, I was seized with a desire to revise it. Enjoy and review.

* * *

I n a sterile, white, windowless room, a woman lay dying.

The people who stood around the bed were in two distinct groupings. One consisted of a golden couple with a tiny dark child and the other of an elderly healer in white coat and his assistant.

The couple seemed out of place in the functional room, both golden and assured. The child also seemed out of place, too small and dark to belong to her companions. The man stood at the head of the bed, focused on the dying woman. He murmured softly to her as his female companion frowned. The child was also staring at the sick woman intensely, and the golden woman's attention was divided between the child and the man.

The medical monitors beeped irregularly and the elderly man moved towards the monitor, working it frantically. The woman with golden hair turned from the child and imperiously asked "How much longer?"

The elderly man stopped his work for a moment. "Not much time left" he said.

The pale woman on the sterile white bed shifted restlessly, her snarled long brown hair moving with a life of its own as she shifted on the bed. The tiny girl pulled her hand from the woman who had spoken and climbed onto the bed, hugging the unconscious woman. Her hair mingled with the hair of the dying woman. "No, momma" she whispered. "No."

The woman on the bed turned towards the girl, sighed and was still, a surprisingly serene smile on her worn face.

The monitors surrounding her started beeping abruptly and the girl started sobbing as though she would never stop.

The blond woman walked over to lift the girl off the bed, hugged the disconsolate child possessively and said "Hush Leia. It does not become a princess to cry over the death of her nurse."

_Halfway across the galaxy…._

Lord Darth Vader stiffened, his attention pulled from the officer who was standing in front of his desk.

He grabbed the desk he was sitting in front of, feeling light headed, and dizzy. His body throbbed, and it was as though his body remembered the pain of the lava pit. His flesh was searing off, he could feel it. It felt like the death agony, and he reflexively started choking the officer in front of him.

"My…my lord" the man said as he turned red and passed out.

The pain was not gone, Vader observed, bemused. He pushed away the lightheadedness and the stomach twisting nausea and felt himself through the Force. Nothing wrong. He wasn't dying.

The world was still shaking around him, and he could feel his bond to his body get looser.

_Someone was dying_. He felt it, felt the refusal to die, the panicked grip of the soul on the mortal body. He looked at his hands through his visor, and took a deep breath. He was not dying.

_"Amidala?"_, he sent uncertainly into the void, to the mind of the person who was dying. She had left him a long time ago, but she was the only one he could think of whose death agony would suck him in. His anger flared. _You would not be dying so far way from me if you had not left,_ he snarled mentally.

Her force presence recoiled, as if in fear, and he tamed his anger.

He felt a touch of apology from her and also…love? The brief, bewildering feeling of light and warmth encircled him for a moment and, abruptly, started to fade. Her death made her presence stand out in the force and he was able to locate her, though he never had before. Alderaan... he thought. Then her presence was gone, leaving him to slump forward on his desk, catching himself.

He spent the next two days in seclusion and waited for intelligence from Alderaan.

Three days after his wife's death Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith, boarded a shuttle for Alderaan. He was travelling incognito.

The pleasant featured, brown haired man cleared customs without any problems. The air around him shimmered for a moment as he lost his grip on the illusion he was projecting. He steadied it. When he had designed his costume to stand out, he had not imagined that there would be a time he would want to blend in.

He was still uncertain why he felt drawn to this world, but he had learned to trust the guidance of the Force. He needed to be here, he knew. He kept suppressing the ridiculous, barely articulated thought that perhaps she was still alive, perhaps that was why he had been drawn here. Her presence lingered in the air around him like an elusive perfume, unusually strong for a person who had died.

Vader felt the Force calling him and followed, confident that he was being led to something important.

* * *

At about the time Vader landed on Alderaan, Princess Leia was having breakfast with her adopted parents in the Dinner Room in the Viceroy's Palace. The Organas dined formally even in private and so the five year old girl deftly juggled forks and spoons and knives, unerringly choosing the correct utensil for each course.

She was a small girl sitting on a chair meant for adults and she looked quite lost despite the cushions which enabled her to reach the table. She was dressed in a heavily embroidered red dress and her long brown hair was looped around her head in an intricate braid. She handled her finely wrought, heavy crystal goblet with care, remembering the consequences the last time she had let her glass fall.

The Organas ate in silent splendor, the hush broken only by the tinkle of silverware and the noise made by the servants as they laid out the meal.

The meal served, the servants withdrew, and Celeste Organa's voice broke the silence sharply "Leia. Threepeo tells me you have been visiting Padme's grave"

"Yes I have, Mother" Leia said, her expression anxious.

Bail looked from Celeste to Leia, his brow furrowing.

"Well, I would like you to stop, darling" said Celeste Organa, her tone firm.

"Why can't I visit my Momma?" Leia asked confusedly.

"There were bad men looking for your Momma, dearest, and we don't want them to find you" Celeste said in a gentler tone. Her face softened as she looked at her adopted daughter "We would hate to lose you."

"Besides," Bail added kindly "your Momma isn't at the grave. She's with you right now, and she'll be with you forever."

Celeste Organa wrinkled her nose and continued eating.

* * *

She wasn't here, Vader realized, feeling a strong sense of unexpected disappointment. Surely, he had not truly expected her to still be alive. He picked up a fistful of soil from over the grave. Her presence lingered on Alderaan, but he could not locate the source. Perhaps it was merely a side effect of her death which would fade soon. This unremarkable spot in the Viceroy's grounds was obviously where she was buried.

He looked at the plain unmarked white stone that marked the place and felt furious all over again. Bushes surrounded it on three sides and apart from the stone there was no sign that a person rested there except for what looked like a ragged bouquet of flowers picked from the Viceroy's garden. A household pet would have had a better grave. His wife deserved a better memorial. If she had lived he would have taken her back to Imperial Center and kept her there, regardless of how she had felt about it. She had been his and Organa would pay for interfering between him and his wife.

He thought about seeking out the viceroy to strangle him and decided against it. Let him live and suffer. A treason trial ought to wreak Organa's storybook perfect life, He mused with dark amusement.

* * *

Princess Leia sat at her child sized dressing table as her nurse undid her hair. The child blinked back tears. This used to be her quiet time with Momma, when Momma brushed her hair and told her stories and sat with her so that she wouldn't be afraid of the dark. The door opened and Celeste Organa walked in.

She took the nurse's place behind Leia and said quietly "Dismissed." The Vicerene waited until the nurse walked out and began to brush Leia's hair. Leia looked in the mirror at herself and Mother. She felt slightly confused. Mother never did things like this for her, she seldom had time.

"You have lovely hair, dear" Celeste said. "The only thing wrong with it that it's too long. Shorter hair would be more appropriate for your age."

Leia felt helpless. Momma had liked her hair long, had said something about a family tradition. Momma had been her real mother. "I like it like this, Madame" she said formally.

"You'll like it cut too," said Celeste eagerly. "You have an appointment with my hairdresser tomorrow. Once it's cut, it will be easier to style, too. You can get curls like mine, or make small braids to hang around your face."

Leia sat small in her chair, feeling friendless. She could sense that this was an argument she was not going to win. Once Leia's hair had been brushed, Celeste tucked her in. Celeste Organa sat next to the bed and sat next to the little girl. Leia felt the gaze and saw her mother smiling at her, looking perfectly content. "Leia" she said firmly "I want you to promise me that from tomorrow onward you won't visit Padme's grave."

Leia refused to let herself cry and whispered softly "I promise not to visit Momma from tomorrow onwards."

"Good night then" Celeste said as she kissed her and left the room. She turned off the light as she left, drowning Leia in darkness.


	2. Chapter Two

**Two  
**

Leia Organa lay in the dark, her fingers clutching the sheet over her head, hiding from the shadowy room. She stifled a sob. Momma never left her alone in the dark when she tucked her in. She began to cry softly, remembering her promise to Mother. From tomorrow onwards she wouldn't even be able to visit Momma and talk to her.

Than, with the ability to negotiate fine print which would make her a great diplomat one day Leia remembered the wording of her promise to Celeste and smiled. She had said nothing about not visiting Momma this night. She would go she decided, even though it meant braving the palace grounds in the terrifying dark. She would go tell Momma why she couldn't come any more, and that she loved her.

Forcing herself to take deep calming breaths the way Momma's friend Ben had taught her, Leia pushed back the covers. Then, in a rush, she ran through the dark room to the window. She struggled with it a moment in the dark, trembling. It finally swung open, and she leaned out. It was not so dark on the grounds, and the distant lamps that illuminated the garden made the dark less threatening. Leia swung her legs over the windowsill, and reached out to grab the branch of the tree that grew near her window,. The bark was rough and scratchy, and she jumped out of her window, holding on to the branch, hung from it a moment and pulled herself up onto the tree, heart pounding loudly. She sat still for a moment. She could still go back to her room.

Lithely, she climbed down and ran into the dark garden.

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Vader walked toward her grave again, feeling again that inexplicable pull. In the cover of the night it was no longer necessary for him to maintain his disguise and so he strode with more ease that he had last time, being able to concentrate only the call of the force.

As he walked he thought about his wife. She had still loved him, he knew, from what he had felt of her dying thoughts. He knew he had not still loved her. The dark side left no room for emotions like love. Revenge, now, revenge he could understand. He would take great joy in punishing Organa for depriving him of his wife.

Vader was so preoccupied with his reflections that he did not feel the presence near the grave until he was very near it. As he approached the bushes he felt…. "Amidala?" he whispered. The presence was like hers, soft and female and gentle.

Than he chided himself for his foolishness. Of course it wasn't her. As he neared the grave he saw a little girl with long brown hair in a frilly white nightgown crouching at the foot of the grave and sobbing. She sniffled, lost in her misery as she whispered softly "Momma."

Vader froze in shock and the little girl whirled to look at him, backing away in fear. He studied her face, noting its extreme pallor. She had large brown eyes and she looked terrified. Despite her muted presence in the Force he knew her, knew that this was his child. She was the image of Amidala. So that was why she left, he thought triumphantly, to keep her daughter safe. But why? The child seemed to have only small potential for the Force. She had conquered her flight reflex, he noted, feeling a faint sense of pride at her courage.

"Who…who are you?" The girl stammered. Then, obviously recalling some lesson in deportment she added a small, cautious "Sir?"

"That depends," Vader said slowly, "on who you are, child."

The elfin child looked at him, her brown eyes huge. She drew her small body straight and said regally, "I am Leia Organa, Princess of Alderaan".

So, Amidala had given the child to the Organas, he thought, feeling a fresh spurt of rage. _His child,_ to be raised by rebellious scum. The child was waiting, so he said "Last I heard, Celeste Organa was in good health".

"Celeste is my mother" Leia explained earnestly "Momma was Momma". Then, to answer his noise of incomprehension, she continued "Momma loved me".

Vader looked at the diminutive girl who was undoubtedly his daughter and felt her suppressed grief. She sniffled again, rubbing her eyes, looking frail and lost and prompted by some instinct he couldn't understand, Vader drew her into his arms and awkwardly held her against his breastplate while she wept. The child shivered, and he drew her closer and moved his cloak so that it covered her.

In dying, Amidala had undone her actions when she left him, he thought with a dark sense of satisfaction. He would never leave this child to the Organas. She would be his child, his apprentice. And if Amidala watched from somewhere beyond life, he hoped it made her furious.

He would take her away from here, he decided, to Coruscant. And when he displaced the Emperor, he would have an heir who was bound to him by blood. It would have been good if she had had his strength in the Force, but she wore her mother's face and if she carried any of their combined genes, she would be a worthy heir. She continued sobbing softly all the while he was thinking. After a while she was silent. "Who are you?" Leia asked again.

Vader scanned his daughter with the Force, curious as to why he she had inherited such little talent. For a while he saw nothing but, driven by an arrogant belief in his own bloodline he probed deeper. It didn't make sense, that the daughter of the Chosen One should be nearly Force-blind. At last he found something. It was subtle, almost undetectable. He examined it and stiffened angrily. There were barriers blocking most of her access to the Force, reducing what should have been an enormous gift into one that was almost insignificant. He studied the Force Block and recognized the maker almost immediately. Obi-Wan truly had much to answer for. The blocks hadn't hurt Leia yet, but if they were not removed before she grew up, they would become permanent, depriving her of her heritage forever.

"Leia" Vader said, drawing on memories of his mother as he set the child down and looked into her eyes "I am your father".

Leia's tears stopped, and she pulled away from the scratchy breastplate and stiffened. The huge man in black loomed over her. Her father? Bail was her father. Sometimes, when Celeste wasn't around, Bail carried her on his shoulders and played with her. This giant was her father?

The dark man gave her a moment and continued "Bail and Celeste Organa stole you and your mother from me. I've been looking for your mother for six years; I didn't know you existed or I'd have looked for you as well."

That didn't sound right. Leia frowned. "Why did mother let them?" she asked.

The dark man sighed as he answered. "They told her that they would harm you if she tried to escape" he said.

Leia looked at the dark man who said he was her father. His story made a strange kind of sense to her young mind. It explained many things, like why Momma looked sad sometimes, when she thought Leia wasn't watching, or why Momma and Celeste sometimes fought about her. It also explained why Celeste had been mean to Momma.

"I am taking you away with me" her father said.

Leia though about resisting, screaming and then did not. If he took her, she would not have to live with Celeste. And the dark man had sounded lonely. She was lonely too. In the end, it was the hint of sadness that she felt from him which decided her. He had loved her Momma too, she thought.

She walked with him, unresisting, her small hand engulfed in his dark gloved one. The dark man walked and Leia ran to keep up. She was panting after he had gone a few steps. The Dark Man paused and then he picked her up. Leia laughed as he swung her through the air before settling her effortlessly on his shoulders, relieved. He acted like a father should, she decided, enjoying the view of the garden from the height, And she wasn't scared of the dark anymore, because he looked stronger then all of the bad things out there.

Vader felt his daughter's body growing heavy with sleep and shifted her to his arms. She was a light bundle, almost weightless. Leia's eyes closed and she nestled against him trustingly. It was clear to Vader that she was a loved child; no frightened child would walk off so calmly with a stranger no matter how she disliked her adoptive mother. Since Bail obviously loved her, he would refrain from punishing the man, Vader decided. It would be enough of a horror for the man to imagine what might have happened to the lovely little girl who he would never hear from again.

Leia slept quietly in the passenger seat of the shuttle, worn out by her long night. Vader looked at his sleeping daughter and covered her with a blanket, remembering that his mother used to do the same thing for him sometimes.

He wouldn't remove her Force Block yet, he decided. The Emperor might see even this delicate child as a threat. Or, almost as bad, he might decide to take her to train, like Mara Jade and undo his own hold on her allegiance. All the Emperor needed to know, Vader decided, was that he had decided to raise his daughter. The Emperor would like that, Vader knew, he would think that it gave him leverage in case Vader tried to replace him. And with the Force Block, Palpatine wouldn't know enough to realize that the child could be a threat to him. Ben Kenobi might actually have done him a favor.

Vader hadn't bothered to dream of the future for a long time. But now, it seemed he had an advantage the Emperor couldn't expect. So he sat next to Leia and plotted and planned all the way back to Imperial Center.


	3. Chapter Three

**Three**

_Four years later..._

"Rise, My friend" the Emperor commanded lazily from his throne. Vader stood up and for a moment the only sound in the throne room was his regular breathing. Than the Emperor began "Lord Vader, I have decided that young Lady Vader will not accompany you on this campaign".

He sounded gleeful, proof that he enjoyed what he was doing. Maybe he wanted to take her to be trained with Mara, he though always sensitive to threats to his control over Leia. Vader forced himself to sound calm when he replied "What would you have me do with her, my liege?"

"Leave her on Imperial Center, at the school which trains all of our young future leaders" the Emperor dictated "We intend her to be a diplomat, and she cannot learn how to interact with people on The Executor".

"Obi-Wan is still alive" Vader stated, not daring to protest too strongly.

"If he is insane enough to try to snatch her from the heart of the Imperium, than we shall capture him" the emperor said confidently. "It is but another reason to keep her close. This is one matter which you won't get your own way on, Lord Vader".

"Very well" said Vader, trying not to sound reluctant.

"We also hope, that with her out of your way, you may be able to regain your lost devotion to your work" the Emperor said, gazing at Vader through his hooded yellow eyes.

Vader was glad of his mask for the first time in his life. It hid his scowl.

After giving Vader a minute to mull over his comment the Emperor regally dismissed Vader. He watched happily as Vader stalked out of the room.

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Leia Vader sat in the garden of her Father's Coruscant palace, trying to read a data pad. It was boring reading however and she was easily distracted by the flowering shrubs around her. She smiled happily, enjoying the unusual sensation of sitting out in the sun. She bullied her father into taking her planetside whenever the Executor was orbiting a planet, but that happened only rarely.

Vader's garden was one of the best on Imperial Center, rivaling the gardens of the Imperial Palace. It hadn't existed the first time she'd visited, Leia recalled.

After much coaxing and whining, her father had allowed her to have trees planted on the barren grounds. She had then hired the Empire's foremost expert on gardens and left the rest to him. After all, she had to help her father spend his fortune, didn't she?

The expert had done a good job. Exotic shrubs and plants from many worlds blended seamlessly to form a beautiful mosaic of colors. Blue leaves mixed with red and green to form a jungle-like effect, which was kept from appearing untidy by the strict pruning the trees were subjected to. An observer would note that there was an abundance of Aldeerani plants and that the grass was also the deep emerald green of that world. She had specified that it was to be so, Leia recalled with a self-satisfied smile, to make it seem more like home. She had hated Imperial Center the first time she set foot on it, she remembered, and she had hated her father's palace.

She had gradually made her father's Coruscant home into a place that she liked. She thought back to the two-month long search for furniture her room. In the beginning, she had pushed just to make sure her father would let her have her own way. And he had. Vader seemed not to believe that he had to keep her from being spoiled. It was a refreshing change from the Organa's parenting methods. She remembered them dimly; they were associated with her memories of her mother.

She had also changed the furniture in the Palace to make it look less gloomy. She quite liked her father's home now although she didn't like the rest of the city and only went there when she went to the palace to share self defense lessons with Mara Jade. Imperial Center was too smoggy and crowded, and she had to have very strict security when she went out.

Thinking of Mara reminded her that her father had been to the Imperial Palace and had undoubtedly brought back the schedule of the lessons she would have with her friend while they were on planet. Mara always out-performed her in self defense, but she was the only other girl her age Leia knew, so she let her get away with gloating.

She got up and ran inside, with her characteristic spontaneity, her data pad forgotten in the garden. Once inside she shivered. The palace was made of stone, rather than some more modern material and was consequentially harder to heat. She turned to a droid and asked, "Had my father returned?" On being informed that he had, Leia headed for the library.

She walked in to find her father looking out of the window at the garden. He did not turn to greet her, and he felt aloof somehow. "What's the matter?" she asked, her intuition telling her something was seriously wrong.

"The Emperor has commanded me to leave you on Imperial Center so that you may begin your education" Vader said in a flat voice.

Leia stared at him, shocked. "I don't want to stay here," she declared willfully. He couldn't leave her.

"I don't want to leave you," Vader said "but we must obey the Emperor's commands".

"Why do I have to stay?" Leia asked plaintively, hoping she could talk him into letting her go with him.

"The Emperor," said Vader "does not feel it is good for you to be on The Executor without the company of others your age. Maybe I have been selfish to keep you to myself so long".

"No" said Leia firmly "I don't need others my age. I have Mara whenever I'm here and I have you for always. Please don't leave me here alone". She was being abandoned again, she thought with rising panic.

"I have no choice, Leia" her father said coldly. Leia knew this mode of his; he adopted it when he felt she was being overly emotional.

"Why does everyone keep leaving me?" Leia asked angrily. "First Momma, now…"

"I am not dying, I assure you" her father said, his voice clipped.

He hated _scenes_, Leia knew, but she couldn't keep herself from saying fiercely "Everyone dies."

"I will get you settled in school first" Vader said, ignoring her remark "and we will visit Mara tomorrow to see when both of you have free time so that you can see each other. It would be best if you lived at school, but I'll arrange for a car and driver to be at your disposal."


	4. Chapter Four

**Four**

They went to the school the next day and Leia sat next to her father while he discussed her care with the principal.

Solange Twiler could not believe her good fortune. She was being asked to educate the daughter of the Emperor's second in command. "We'd be delighted to have her, Lord Vader" she cooed. "Such a bright and precocious child would be a credit to any institution."

Leia could feel her father's dislike for this woman practically oozing out of him.   
Leia didn't like her much either. She was….sticky, for lack of a better descriptive phrase. She reminded Leia a bit of Celeste, but Celeste hadn't been so bad. Leia also disliked the way Solange ignored her and talked about her like she wasn't there.

Solange got up and personally showed Leia and her father the rooms she would inhabit. Leia looked around them and frowned. The metallic room and furniture were depressing. "It's depressing" she told her father in a whisper.

He acted as though he had not heard her, but a moment later proved he had. "I hope it is not against the rules for me to have the furniture replaced" he said to Solange, his voice carrying a tone which said that it better not be.

It was against the rules, Leia knew from the rule book she had read at the office.

"For such a distinguished pupil, exceptions can be made" Solange gushed.

After they had seen the rooms Leia and her father roamed the campus. Leia noticed that all of the noisy pupils became silent when her father entered a room. They seemed almost afraid of him, though Leia could not think of any reason for them to fear her father. They avoided looking at him and stared at her and, disturbed by their bold gazes, Leia drew closer to her father for protection. Leia could catch short whispers of gossip in their wake.

"Leia Vader…." "I didn't know he had a daughter…." "Can he have children…" "…maybe she's adopted" "I wonder who her mother is?".

The school was too big and impersonal, Leia thought. She would get lost among all the other children. Leia wasn't sure she liked the ides of studying with a lot of other children. So far her lessons had been personalized and taught either by her tutor droid and occasionally, by her father.

"I didn't like Solange" were Leia's first words as soon as she and her father were safely in their air-car.

She was rewarded for her comment by her father's rare short bark of laughter. It sounded a little like a cough, but Leia knew the difference. It was the sound he had made when he had discovered her imitating a broadcast of the emperor. It had become a game with her, after that, to try to make her father laugh. "You are very perceptive, little one. And she'd be heartbroken to hear that".

"But why?" Leia asked, curious "she doesn't particularly like me".

"You will find," her father explained, in the tone of voice he adopted when he was lecturing her "that a lot of people will court your favor without having much liking for you. They will want to make you like them, so that you may be of use to them later".

Leia sat back in her chair, lost in her thoughts. She didn't quite understand what her father was saying, but one of the things she liked most about him was the way he always talked to her as an equal.

"You have an advantage people don't know about though" Vader continued "By using the Force you will always be able to tell which people like you and which are merely pretending".

"But won't they guess that I can use the Force if I scan them?" Leia asked. It had been drilled into her time and again by Vader that she wasn't to let anyone know about her Force strength.

"Force blind people can't tell when they've been scanned, unless you deep probe them" Vader said. And then he continued seriously "Just don't try to scan Mara".

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Mara Jade sat anxiously in her room waiting for her only friend. She knew Leia was on Imperial Center, she had seen Lord Vader at Court. And her training master had said she was to have a special visitor. Both of these things led to one conclusion; Leia was on Imperial Center and she was coming to play. Leia was the only friend Mara was allowed to have and even then she rarely saw her outside their shared self-defense classes.  
Mara did not know why her Master let her have this one distraction but she was grateful. There was a knock on the door and it opened to reveal Leia.

"Hello, Mara" Leia said running to her friend and hugging her.

Mara stiffened, not used to such demonstrativeness. Then she hugged back, savoring this bit of human contact. "It's good to see you too, Leia" Mara said dryly. Leia's exuberance was alien to her, but it was also enchanting.

So she hugged Mara harder and said "You'll be seeing me a lot more. The Emperor has ordered Father to leave me here for my education."

"You don't want to stay?" Mara asked, trying to ignore the anger in Leia's voice. If she didn't notice it, she wouldn't have to report it.

"No," Leia said seriously "not if it means having to leave Papa"

"The Emperor knows more then we do" Mara said solemnly, hoping her friend would listen. "If he wants you to stay it's for your own good".

Leia drew back to look at her friend. Then she nodded. "So, what have your tutors been teaching you since we last met?" she changed the topic cheerfully and the two girls began the familiar process of catching up.

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Bail Organa strode through the corridors of the Imperial Palace, on his way home from a meeting of the Senate. As he walked through the corridors he saw a tall man clothed in black body armor and wearing a helmet walking with a little girl in white. His breath caught in his throat "Leia…." He muttered almost inaudibly, unbelieving, but still feeling a burst of joy. She was still alive.

Still alive and well cared for too, by the looks of it, he thought as they drew closer. Her hair was still long and she wore it loose, with a hairband to keep it out of her mobile face. As they drew closer he could see how the tall man walked slowly to accommodate his small companion. They were an almost comical pair, with Leia seeming almost a parody of Vader. She looked all right, but was she, he wondered. And if she was, what dark plans of Vader's did she figure in?

Bail had had many troubled nightmares about what had happened to Leia. He and Celeste had investigated frantically, and had found nothing. It had been almost too much for him to lose both Leia and Amidala in such a short period of time. She was alive, he thought wonderingly, turning away so Vader would not see him pass.


	5. Chapter Five

**Five**

Leia waited for her father to come put her to bed. It was their nightly ritual, from the night she had left the Organas; no matter how busy he was, he always made time to tuck her in and say goodnight. She had insisted on it, throwing a fit every time he did not make time for her at the end of her day. He had seemed bewildered, but had given in.

Some days bedtime was the only time she saw him, but usually, he made arrangements to spend part of the day with her, even when he was busy. Bed time was their special time together and Leia saved up all the things which bothered her to discuss. She felt sad, remembering that she would no longer be able to see him every day.

The door opened to admit Lord Vader. Leia quietly got into bed and Vader moved to perch on her bedside table. He sat quietly. Leia had accepted early on that she would have to talk to him and make him talk.

"Mara" Leia began, halted and then continued "Mara told me that the Emperor knew what was best for all of us". It confused her, her friend's blind obedience to a man who made her work so hard.

Vader had gone still "Did you criticize him, Leia?" he asked.

Leia shook her head and her father relaxed. "Good".

"Why shouldn't I?" Leia asked, wondering what was wrong with letting her friend know how she felt.

"Would you let anyone say bad things about me?" Vader asked rhetorically. "Mara thinks of the Emperor as her father. Also she's been trained to obey him from birth". Then more urgently Vader continued "She wouldn't hesitate to tell him anything you said about him".

"But she's my friend" Leia said, struck by a vague sense of betrayal.

"Friendship doesn't matter" Vader said as he walked off.

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I hate school, Leia Vader decided, I really, really hate school. She had been there for a month already, and the thought of being there for much longer was maddening.

She did not have to socialize with other children as much as she thought she would, and she liked that. Classes were structured like her private lessons with her tutor droid, except that she had human teachers. She was only forced to interact with other children only occasionally, in the rare discussion-based classes or in the common rooms. After a few disastrous attempts, Leia had chosen not to frequent the common rooms. She did not need to, she thought with a smug smile. She had everything she needed in her room.

It was a little like the world as she knew it had ended; Leia could scarcely believe that she had once lived on her father's ship, had had lessons only when she wished, had been free to do anything she liked in her quarters. Talking to her father on the comm. didn't help; they didn't seem to have much to say to each other. The only real contact she had with her father was when she tried to reach him at night, using the Force. Sometimes she could get a vague sense of his presence, and those were the nights she slept well.

She wasn't lonely in the crowded school, but she felt very alone. People were quick to approach her but their minds always whispered of the favors she could persuade her father to for their families. The most pure intentioned of them had been cautioned that Leia Vader could either hurt them or harm them so they'd better be nice to her. Sometimes Leia wished she didn't have the minute amount of Force sense that she did. It did her no good, it was too small and it might have been nice to think that all of the kids were being welcoming because they liked her. As it was though, their mercenary nature put her off. And even worse, they were morbidly curious about her father.

A pimply faced boy named Jason had stopped her to ask "Hey. Have you seen your father choke someone to death? I think it would be way cool". She had slapped him, Leia remembered with deep satisfaction. Her satisfaction increased as she remembered that no one had dared to discipline her, the teachers too scared that she might have some of her father's power.

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Jayelle Palmer looked at her newest pupil with a smile and invited her to take a seat. Leia was so quiet that it was hard for Jayelle to remember that this was the daughter of one of the Emperor's most feared commanders. The child was polite and gave herself no airs, but she was so detached that Jayelle wondered if she had been emotionally damaged. "Hello Leia," Jayelle said "how is Jason?"

The child looked blank, as though she had forgotten who Jason was. After a moment she said "Jayson was well, last I heard. Why?"

"Well" said Jayelle, "I hadn't thought he'd recover from your attack so soon". The boy was an idiot, but upon being questioned he had maintained that he thought Leia would be pleased to hear that he was impressed by the way Lord Vader killed "scum".

Leia drew herself up in her chair. "He insulted my father" she ground out, drawing herself up, casting off her air of aloof withdrawal to radiate danger. She suddenly reminded Jayelle of a tiger cub, lovely but also dangerous.

"I have a surprise for you" Jayelle said, wondering how Leia would react as the door opened and a man walked in.

Leia turned to the door, and as Jayelle watched, the very reserved child got up, stared for a second and then threw herself into the stranger's arms. "Uncle Ben" she said happily.

Obi-Wan set Leia down and looked at her a while. "I'm glad you're well, Leia" he said.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Leia asked, and Jayelle could hear her genuine confusion at the question. "

"When I heard that Vader had taken you" Obi-Wan said " I feared the worst".

"Why" Leia asked again, now getting angry. "I was with my father."

"Because he is dark," Ben ground out. Jayelle flinched at the harshness of his tone. _He's handling this all wrong_, she thought.

Leia moved away from Ben, her face pale, eyes wide. Suddenly, Leia stiffened. "It not very polite to try to read minds," she snarled.

Ben laughed, and the sound seemed sad to Jayelle "You're so much like your mother" he said. Jayelle wondered about Leia's mother. She had never thought about it, but if she had, would have speculated that the woman was a courtesan who had given her child to its powerful father to raise.

Leia looked wistful for a second. "Tell me about her" she said, pleading, and Jayelle felt a strong pang of sympathy. She too had been a motherless child.

"What do you want to know?" Ben asked cruelly."How she loved your father, How he betrayed her, How she gave up everything to keep you away from him, Or how she died of a broken heart?"

Leia recoiled, and went white.

Jayelle frowned at Ben Kenobi. She had never met him before, and was doubting the Rebellion's wisdom in sending the man.

"Forgive me Leia" Ben said, modulating his tone. "I just miss her so much, and it angers me that she sacrificed her life to keep you safe and failed".

"I am safe" Leia insisted, tossing her head angrily.

"Just because you're safe now, doesn't mean you will always be, Leia" Ben said with what sounded like genuine concern. "He doesn't really love you, you know, he just plans to use you".

Leia looked crushed, and Ben struck while the iron was hot. "He kills, you know" Obi-Wan said flatly. "He uses the Force to kill people, making sure they die slowly".

Jayelle had been standing stationary, watching. The grief on Leia's face prompted her to action and she walked across the room to take the broken hearted child into her arms. "He's telling the truth, you know" she whispered, doubting the Rebellion for the first time. It seemed cruel to shatter this girl's illusions about her father. She extinguished her doubts firmly. Surely Vader intended to misuse the girl, perhaps to sacrifice her to a political marriage. Jayelle hugged the girl protectively and let Obi-Wan speak.

"I'll come back tomorrow, to find out if you'll come with me" he spoke. " I hope you will, your mother would have wanted you to".

With that he was gone, leaving Jayelle to comfort the shattered child he left behind.

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Leia walked the grey corridors in a daze.

The kids she passed in the hallway seemed to have blurred faces and she stumbled twice during the five minute walk. When she reached the safe haven of her room, Leia closed the door and sat down hard on her bed. She would be missing a class, but that seemed immaterial right now.

Her mind whirled from Obi-Wan's revelations. Her mother had run away from her father, Her father was a brutal killer, her father had lied to her about the Organa's? But surprisingly, it was not these accusations which troubled Leia most. No, the accusation which troubled her most was the one Obi-Wan had given least importance to. His voice was still ringing in her ears _"He doesn't love you"._

Ben had been so sure, as if stating a proven fact. If her father didn't love her, Leia decided, than her world would never be the same. She had taken for granted that he must love her, from the day he had taken her from the Organa's. He was her father.

True he'd never said he loved her, but he always gave in to her every whim. She smiled, remembering the garden he had helped her build when she had mentioned that the lack of greenery on Imperial Center was depressing. She remembered also the time he spent with her. He hadn't sent her to this school to get rid of her, unlike most of the kids here. He had sent her under duress, and after protesting. And he had promised to find a way to take her out of school, if she didn't like it.

No, she decided firmly, Obi-Wan was mistaken about that last accusation. That most important question settled, Leia sat down to contemplate the rest of Ben's charges against her father. She took deep breaths to clear her mind, as her father had told her to do before trying to figure something out. As she did this she remembered her father's voice saying "Would you listen, if someone said bad things about me?" Feeling vaguely disloyal, Leia began to list Obi-Wan's accusations.

Firstly, he said that her father killed people. Leia knew, that if she'd ever thought about it she would have realized that he did. After all, he was a soldier and that was what soldiers did. Ben said that her father was cruel while killing, and most other people said so too. Leia frowned, wondering what to think. Maybe he _was_ a murderer.

Secondly, he said that her mother had left her father. This certainly conflicted with what she knew of her father and mother's separation. So, basically, Ben claimed that her father lied to her. He might be right, she decided finally.

ObiWan had said that her mother would have wanted her to leave with him. Leia had sensed no duplicity coming from him when he said that. He truly believed that, Leia thought, and he was probably right. Her gentle mother would never have wanted her to stay with a man who was evil. That thought in mind, she got into bed. Sleep was a long time coming.


	6. Chapter Six

**Six**

Halfway across the galaxy, Darth Vader reached out to his daughter in the nightly ritual she had designed before he left her. He engaged in this goodnight gesture only to appease her, but he felt disturbed when she didn't respond. She was asleep, and troubled, he felt.

He had been away from Imperial Center long enough, he decided, as he gave the order to have a shuttle prepared. He reached out to mentally brush his sleeping daughter, sending waves of protectivness and even what might be called love.

On Imperial Center, Leia's tossing and turning calmed and she slipped into deep sleep.

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ObiWan walked into Jayelle's office and paused, taking in the occupants of the room. Little Leia sat in a chair next to Jayelle, looking white. Ben was glad to be about to restore Amidala's daughter to the side she belonged on.  
"Ready to go Leia?" he asked cheerfully.

The child looked at him serenely, seeming much older than nine. "No" she said decidedly. Her voice was calm and resolved and she stood there looking innocent and fragile in a sunny yellow dress.

"What!" he exclaimed, looking at the idiotic girl. What was it with the Naberrie women and their attachment to Anakin.?

"I won't go with you, Ben" she declared in the same inflexible tone her mother had used when addressing the Galactic Senate.

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Obi-Wan had had enough. "Oh yes, you will" he said angrily grabbing Leia. The girl clearly didn't know what was good for her. Leia squirmed and pushed. "Jayelle" she called."Let her go, Jedi Kenobi" Jayelle said, advancing on Obi-Wan.

Ben closed his eyes for a minute and Jayelle passed out. He was sorry to have done that, but Leia had clearly been brainwashed. Once she got to Dagobah, she'd be fine, he reassured himself as he slung her over his shoulder, keeping her quiet using the Force.  
"Father" Leia screamed, throwing every vestige of the crippled Force talent she had into that one desperate cry. She had only managed to scream once before Ben knocked her out.

Ben escaped through the tunnels of Coruscant, Leia a light burden in his arms. She wouldn't have been heavy, even if he hadn't been using the Force. They were in a lower area of the city and the steel corridors were damp and mossy. Vents opened into the corridor, ejecting steam from countless kitchens across the city. In a little while Ben would reach the tunnel that led to the surface and his ship.

The Force warned Ben of pursuit and he sensed mildly Force strong people in the tunnels on either side of him. Red robed guards appeared like smoke. Now that he searched he could sense Vader's presence in space. He cursed under his breath. Bail had told him Lord Vader would be away for some weeks more. No wonder the Imperial Guards could find him, he thought, increasing his speed and running. Vader could keep track of his daughter, by virtue of their blood relationship.

The dank tunnels were illuminated by dazzling red light as a bomb exploded in front of him. There was a loud noise from behind him and with a feeling of defeat Obi-Wan knew that he was surrounded.

The vents which let steam into the surroundings made everything hazy but Obi-Wan could see the Imperial Guards drawing closer to him. They weren't firing at him, maybe so as not to hurt Leia. Ben prepared to jump into the vent above him.

At this very inopportune juncture, Leia woke up. "Help meee!" she shouted and began kicking and screaming. She turned her head and bit Obi-Wan's arm, drawing blood. Taken by surprise, he dropped her. She fell and lay still, unconscious. By now the Imperial guards had formed a circle around him. Ben jumped into the vent. After all, he reasoned, he couldn't escape with the child hindering him. If he'd only had a day's head start, he thought frustratedly, he could have delivered Leia to Dagobah, where Vader couldn't find her. Now, he reflected sadly, the girl was lost to them. Her Force Block would solidify in some years and, as Vader hadn't found it yet, there was little danger that she would become a Sith. She would never be a Jedi either. He had failed Amidala's daughter, just as he had failed Amidala. The thought brought with it an enormous amount of grief and guilt. Now, the girl was lost to them.

Well, Ben vowed, the boy would be a Jedi. And eventually, he would bring down the Empire. Perhaps he would not be too late to redeem his twin.

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When Leia regained consciousness she was in her bed in her father's palace. She could hear the mechanical rasp of her father's breath as his gloved hand gently ran through her hair. An incredible sense of peace stole over her and she asked questioningly "Papa?"

"Yes" Vader answered.

"What happened?" she asked muzzily.

"Obi-Wan tried to abduct you. Your illness is because the clumsy oaf dropped you when you bit his hand." Leia could hear the cold rage in her father's voice, and despite herself she shivered, reminded of all Ben had told her about her father. "So far," Vader continued "he remains uncaptured". Vader continued running his hand through her hair gently. Leia lay still, enjoying the feeling of being close to her father once more. The silence was comfortable; they seldom needed words to communicate. And to think, she thought angrily, that Ben would have taken this from her forever.

After a while her father asked "How did Ben gain access to you?"

Unthinkingly, Leia told him "Jayelle helped him". Then she stiffened, remembering.

"What's wrong?" Vader asked, and she thought his voice was a little hurt.

"Don't hurt her, Papa" Leia said, "I like her".

Vader sighed, a sound which seemed to come from the depths of his heart. "What did Obi-Wan say about me?" he asked flatly.

"Ben said that you hurt people" Leia said, feeling vaguely guilty for repeating the accusation.

Vader shifted on the bed, and said "My duties require force, sometimes"

Leia listened to her father's explanation. She gathered her courage as the dark glove worked through her hair in the same way her mother's hand used to. "Ben said that you didn't love me".

"He was lying" her father said firmly, "precious child"

Leia was slipping into sleep when she remembered one final question. "Why did mother leave you?"

"Obi-Wan" Vader said loathingly "told her I would harm you".

Leia drifted off to sleep, with the beginnings of a throbbing headache, feeling free to hate Ben Kenobi thoroughly. It was a feeling which would remain with her her entire life.

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Jayelle Palmer walked into Castle Vader and shivered. The summons had not come as a surprise, although she was surprised that she had not been arrested. Maybe that would come later. The Imperial guards had said only that Lord Vader requested her presence. Maybe, Jayelle thought dourly, Lord Vader didn't intent to bother with a trial. No one would dare question him if she disappeared.

The interior of the imposing gray palace was surprisingly cheerful. Colorful tapestries on the walls undid the cold look they could have had and potted plants made the atmosphere quite comfortable. Perhaps it was Leia's influence. Jayelle let out a silent prayer for the innocent little girl's safety, wherever she was.

The red robed guards escorted her to Lord Vader's office and directed her to sit down, informing her that Lord Vader would be in shortly. Then, without a word they left, seeming to evaporate in a manner Jayelle found creepy.

She sat and waited in the obsidian office. There was no color in this room and it was furnished exclusively in black. Jayelle tried not to concentrate on her feelings of betrayal. Obi-Wan had assured her that he would not take Leia without her permission. He had lied. Perhaps the cause to which she was about to give her life was not worth dying for, after all.

After she had been waiting a while, Darth Vader stalked in.

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Jayelle saw the Dark Lord and shivered despite herself. The Sith lord seemed to radiate cold fury. She sat in silence, leaving him to open the conversation.

He walked towards her, his cape swirling behind him and circled her. She leaned into her chair, feeling dizzy. Then, as a sharp pain ran through her head, she knew that her mind had been read. Jayelle gagged, feeling violated. Vader sat down on the desk and waited quietly until the worst of her headache subsided. "How dare you?" Jayelle said angrily, as soon as she was capable of speech.

"When a person has helped the Rebellion abduct my daughter" Lord Vader said darkly "I dare quite a lot".

So Leia was still with the Rebellion, Jayelle thought, relaxing in her seat. At least her death would not be entirely in vain.

"Leia has been recovered," Vader continued, offering her no clues as to Obi-Wan's fate.  
So her efforts had been unsuccessful, Jayelle thought with a pang of regret. This brute would continue raising that sensitive child. And she would die, having accomplished nothing. It was easy to accept that a certain course of action might lead to execution, Jayelle reflected, and hard to actually face that execution. She took deep breaths, trying to control her racing heart. It would be better for her pride if she seized initiative in the conversation, she decided. "What is my punishment to be?" she asked, hating the way her voice trembled, despite her best efforts._ I'm too young to die_ she thought, panicked.

"If I went to the Imperial Courts and denounced you as a member of the Rebellion," Vader said coolly "I have no doubt you would be executed".

"But?" Jayelle asked, wondering what alternate punishment Vader was imposing. I hope it doesn't involve burning oil, she thought with a flash of dark humor.

Vader was silent a moment. He got up and paced the length of the room restlessly. Finally he said "I require a tutor, one who does not indoctrinate Leia about the virtues of the Empire. I want my daughter to be capable of clear thought. If you would be Leia's personal tutor aboard the Executor, I would appreciate it".

Jayelle gasped and stared at Vader in shock. The Emperor's second in command wanted his daughter to think that the Empire was less than perfect. If she accepted Vader's offer, the Rebellion would think her a double agent, and responsible for Obi-Wan's failure.

"I really have no choice, do I?" Jayelle asked resentfully. It galled her, to know that everyone would think she had betrayed her ideals, but it was better than death.  
And then after a pause "What are the terms of my employment?"

"You will share my daughter's quarters on the Executor" Vader said "And educate her as befits her position. You may not mention the Rebellion to her, except in unfavorable terms".

It _was_ better than execution, Jayelle decided, but not by a lot. She would be stuck on the Executor with only Imperial troops for company. Still, she would be able to try to help Leia.

"You have a week to pack your things and terminate your current employment" Vader said.

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She was quite an important part of his plan, Vader mused as he watched the teacher leave. She was angry at his blackmail, but seemed too fair to take it out on Leia. If the Emperor agreed to this arrangement, Leia would be safe for some years more. By the time she was grown, Jayelle would have instilled in her a skepticism of the Empire's motives which would keep her from ever being brainwashed like Mara Jade. But, if the teacher followed instructions, neither would she believe that the Rebellion was perfect. In short, she would be ready to support his bid for the Empire.


End file.
